August 23, 2009 – 9:24 am
Amid questions about the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil one of the lead researchers for the Merck drug is speaking out about its risks, benefits and aggressive marketing. Dr. Diane Harper says young girls and their parents should receive more complete warnings before receiving the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Harper helped design and carry out the Phase II and Phase III safety and effectiveness studies to get Gardasil approved, and authored many of the published, scholarly papers about it. She has been a paid speaker and consultant to Merck. It’s highly unusual for a researcher to publicly criticize a medicine or vaccine she helped get approved.
What is Yeast and What Causes It? Signs and Symptoms of Yeast Vaginitis
Yeast infections may cause no symptoms; Sometimes yeast is noted on a Pap test and does not require treatment, unless there are symptoms; There may be increased vaginal discharge with yeast infection; This is typically described as thick or curdy; There may be mild to moderate itching and irritation; If the genital skin becomes very irritated, it may become red, swollen and may develop splits.
August 5, 2009 – 11:07 am
Be sure to get regular check-ups, including Pap tests. If you see genital skin changes, make an appointment with your health care provider for an exam. These feelings are normal. It is common for people with HPV to feel angry, upset, depressed or ashamed about their condition. Some women may also be concerned about the risk for cancer. Keep in mind that HPV can be managed and cervical cancer can almost always be prevented. Talk to your health care provider about your concerns. Keeping yourself healthy and not smoking can help boost you body’s natural defense system to fight the virus.
You can increase your chances of not having cervical cancer or precancerous changes in the future by protecting yourself against sexually transmitted infections, not smoking tobacco products, and by getting routine Pap smears. A Pap smear is only useful in detecting and preventing cervical cancer or precancerous changes if you return for follow-up evaluation and treatment appointments, when necessary. Keep in mind that it is very likely that the cause of your abnormal Pap smear can be easily treated, if treatment is necessary. In addition, the earlier abnormalities are treated, the easier they are to treat.
HPV is a virus that is very common. In fact, most men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives. There are approximately 100 types of HPV. Some HPV typesonly infect the genital area and may cause warts, some cause mild changes in cervical cells that do not turn into cancer, and some cause changes that may become cervical cancer if present for many years. The types of HPV that are found in the genital areas are usually passed on during sexual contact (sexually transmitted). HPV types that cause warts on the hands or feet do not cause genital warts or cervical cell changes, nor do genital HPV types generally spread outside the genital area.
State mandated Gardasil shots for preteen girls to protect them from the viruses that causes cervical cancer, are targeting the wrong age group. Middle-school girls inoculated with the HPV vaccine will be no older than eighteen when they pass Gardasil’s five-year window of proven effectiveness — more than a decade before the typical cancer patient contracts the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). Merck & Co. has repeatedly refused to respond to requests for its HPV incubation statistics, stating that it is still studying the longevity of Gardasil.
According to the Canadian Women’s Health Network, most women who don’t smoke, eat well and have a healthy immune system will clear the virus without any treatment. And the Public Health Agency of Canada has said that more than 80 per cent of HPV infections acquired at an early age were gone within a year and a half. Even better, after a woman has fought off a strain, she has almost no chance of contracting it again.
Cervical cancer is a major global public health problem affecting socioeconomically deprived populations. It is the most
common cancer among women in low-resource countries where 85% of the global cervical cancer burden of
approximately 493 000 cases and 273 000 deaths are found annually. Recognising the need for a more practical and effective approach to screening and early detection of cervical cancer in
developing countries, Dr Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, Head of the Screening Group at IARC, with Dr Bhagwan
Nene and colleagues from the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Hospital (NDMCH), Barshi, India and Dr Surendra Shastri
and colleagues from the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, India undertook a large randomised controlled trial in the remote district of Osmanabad in Maharashtra State, India.
Colposcopy is a medical diagnostic procedure to examine an illuminated, magnified view of the cervix and the tissues of the vagina and vulva. Many premalignant lesions and malignant lesions in these areas have discernible characteristics which can be detected through the examination. It is done using a colposcope, which provides an enlarged view of the areas, allowing the colposcopist to visually distinguish normal from abnormal appearing tissue and take directed biopsies for further pathological examination. The main goal of colposcopy is to prevent cervical cancer by detecting precancerous lesions early and treating them.
Fox News reporter Heidi Hemmit conducts a well-balanced interview of two Denver teens, and their moms about the adverse side effects they suffered after their first Gardasil shot. The primary message is informed choice. Women need to base their decisions about Gardasil not on a hip marketing jingle, but on some solid research.
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